Dealing with Survivor Guilt

People who have survived a very traumatic event when others
did not may feel guilty for their survival and they may blame themselves for
things they did or could have done differently in the past.

“A woman in Chicago
blames herself for spending money on a car last year instead of saving towards
her Haitian sister’s potential immigration.”

While some guilt about things left undid or unsaid is a
normal part of the grieving experience, excessive survivor guilt can lead to
feelings of depression or anxiety and it can also make people more reluctant to
seek out help for the way they feel.

Treatment for Survival Guilt

If your feelings of guilt aren’t going away and are interfering
with your quality of life, it’s important that you make contact with a mental
health professional to discuss effective treatments that can help you get past
the legacy of trauma.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is commonly used to treat
PTSD and survival guilt to help people change negative patterns of thinking
that produce negative and hurtful moods and behaviors.

CBT can work quite quickly, it does not require of you to
talk about your past or your subconscious dreams and it provides you with real
world skills and techniques that you can practice in daily life to help you
feel better.

While few things hurt like the sudden loss of a loved one, grief is a necessary and ultimately healthy process. Unfortunately, people who lose family and friends to disasters may be at an increased risk of a disorder known as traumatic or complicated grief.

Feeling stressed and anxious after a disaster is normal. Here is some information on what feelings are normal after a disaster, with tips on managing and reducing feelings of stress and anxiety - and also, information on when to get professional help for serious stress or mental health symptoms.